The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has raised an alarm that the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has refused to grant its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, access to the February 23, presidential election materials.
The Appeal Court had directed INEC to allow the PDP candidate access to inspect the documents and materials used in the Presidential election but that has not happened.
The PDP in a press statement signed by its Spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, described INEC’s refusal as a deliberate and wicked ploy by the commission, acting in cahoots with the All Progressives Congress, APC, to frustrate the people-backed resolve by Atiku Abubakar and the PDP to timeously file and mention their petition at the Presidential Election Tribunal.
The PDP stated that “It is imperative to inform Nigerians that upon obtaining the lawful order of the Court, directing INEC to forthwith, avail Atiku Abubakar and the PDP copies of all the documents and other materials used for the Presidential election, our legal team wrote to the INEC Chairman on the 11th and 12th of March 2019 respectively, causing the Order to be served on INEC and requesting access to the said documents and materials.
“Despite being served with the Order and several follow-ups, the leadership of INEC has refused to grant the PDP and Atiku Abubakar access to the materials and documents, notwithstanding the urgency of the matter.
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“This action by the leadership of INEC has further exposed that it has been heavily compromised by the Buhari Presidency to rig the February 23, 2019 Presidential election and to frustrate the quest by Nigerians to reclaim the mandate from President Muhammadu Buhari and save the nation from the crisis of an illegitimate government.”
The PDP insisted that the leadership of INEC and the APC were seeking to frustrate their court option, seeing that the documents and materials will expressly show that Atiku Abubakar clearly won the election by the votes directly delivered at the polling units across the country as well as expose how the commission and the Buhari Presidency manipulated the results for President Buhari.
The Party cautioned the INEC to note that Nigerians were now aware of its manipulative tendencies and that any further delay in granting access to the materials might attract public odium.
It called on INEC to end its unpatriotic partisan shenanigans with the APC and immediately obey the Appeal Court and grant the PDP and Atiku Abubakar access to the documents and materials and free itself from the unholy entanglement with the APC against Nigerians.
